


When I See You Again

by catrasredemption (dimensionhoppingrose)



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Modern Setting, Reincarnation AU, but also canon setting in flashbacks, silly in love nerds, they're still dorks don't worry, unabashed romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/catrasredemption
Summary: “Hey Adora.”A weird sense of déjà vu washed over Adora. Catra was standing in the hall, smirking, and Adora was frozen. Weird how a pretty girl could completely short-circuit her brain.“So are we dating?”Catra laughed, hands in her pockets. “Wow, right to the point? Do you want to call Entrapta and let her know the answer?”Adora blushed. “Oh, um… right, sorry. Do you want to come in? I got the pizza already, and — she just got me thinking about it, I mean, we’ve been seeing each other awhile now, and Ifeellike we’re dating, but we haven’t even kissed, and—”And she was being cut off by a pair of gentle lips pressing against hers. “If you wanted to kiss me, you could’ve just asked,” Catra murmured as she pulled away. Damn it she was smooth. Adora did her best not to stutter.“I mean… I can’t really complain about these results, right?”---------Tumblr request: Reincarnation au where they gradually unlock memories of their canon life? They could get reincarnated in Etheria or Earth, big universe.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 515





	When I See You Again

**Author's Note:**

> I knew the second I saw this request that it was going to turn into a Whole Thing. Which it did, as seen by the 6000 words I wrote for it XD
> 
> Unbeta-ed, please don't feel the need to point out spelling mistakes. Trust me, I know.
> 
> Basically the fic's theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I451sW0-vVk

“Do I know you?”

It was an odd way of greeting the woman she’d met on a dating website, Adora would admit that.

“Uh… yeah, we met online, remember?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow. Adora shook the thought off, smiling.

“Yeah, right, of course. Sorry, it’s been a long day.”

Adora hadn’t even wanted to sign up for the website. She was perfectly happy being single. But Bow and Glimmer were convinced she was going to turn into an old spinster and be miserable forever, so they got her drunk one night and talked her into creating an account. Devious jerks. Glimmer had laid in bed with her the next morning while she nursed a hangover, scrolling through a list of profiles.

“Oh, how about this one?” She stopped, holding the phone out to Adora. The bright light assaulted her eyes; she squinted, trying fight off the throbbing headache.

“Glimmer can’t we do this later…?”

Her voice drifted off when she saw the profile picture. It was a young Latina woman, wild hair sticking up, blue and gold eyes vivid against her tan skin. “Oooooooh, I think we have a winner,” Glimmer declared, grinning. “Wanna message her?”

“I, um… maybe?” That was all it took for Glimmer to fire off a quick greeting. “Glimmer!”

“Bow, we found someone!”

Bow cheered from the kitchen.

Her name was Catra Weaver, and apparently she had “well-meaning” friends who had coerced her to sign up for the site as well. Adora feltl a little better about that. They had talked throughout the week before finally agreeing to meet for a casual coffee date.

 _Do you know Plumeria? It’s a vegan coffee place downtown. Which is weird, I know, but my friend’s girlfriend owns it and if they’re going to make me use this site, they can at least pay for our date_.

Adora had to laugh at that.

And now here she was, standing next to a table in the coffee shop, head tilted as she looked down at Catra. Seeing her in person was… jarring for some reason. But in a good way. Like a puzzle piece she hadn’t known was out of place slipped back where it belonged.

“Yooooooooooou okay?” Catra asked slowly. Adora shook herself out of her trance, smiling.

“Yeah, sorry, yeah. Long day.”

“You mentioned that.” Catra gestured to the chair across from her. “Take a seat. Order _anything_ you want, right Scorpia?”

That was directed at a large woman a couple tables away who was pretending (poorly) to read a book and not pay attention at all. “You got it wildcat. Whole date is on me.”

“You really don’t have to,” Adora said with a small smile as she sat.

“Oh, she _really_ does,” Catra corrected Adora. Scorpia chuckled, not at all put out by the threatening glare she was getting. That was impressive. She must have been used to it.

“And I thought I was mad at _my_ friends for getting me on that website,” Adora joked. Catra threw another small glare over her shoulder, then refocused on Adora.

“Did they sign you up without telling you and then watch the website for two weeks before throwing a laptop at you and saying, ‘Someone wants to date you!’”

“Um…” Adora blinked. “No. They just got me drunk and talked me into it.”

“What? That’s not fair!” Catra’s voice cracked out of the pure indignity of it all. “At you least you got to drink! I just got woken up after getting _three hours_ of sleep! Your friends are _way_ better than mine.”

Adora coughed, trying to cover her laugh. “I guess they aren’t that bad. Since your friends are paying for our first date, why don’t mine pay for the second? We can get drinks.”

“Wow, so sure there’s going to be a second date,” Catra teased, raising an eyebrow. Adora blushed and ducked her head.

“I mean, _if_ there’s a second — ya know—”

“Lighten up.” A foot lightly nudged her shin. “I’m messing with you.”

That’d should’ve been mean. Adora thought it was endearing. Why did she think it was _endearing_? She looked up, catching the small, amused smile Catra was giving her, the twinkling mischief in her split gaze.

 _She’s so pretty_.

“We already did all the awkward small talk and getting to know each other online, so what now? Do we skip straight to making out?”

And she apparently _really_ liked messing with Adora. “I mean, we’ve only been here ten minutes, I haven’t even gotten my drink yet…” The blonde smirked. Catra chuckled.

“Good point. Hey, Perfuma!”

A tall, skinny woman slipped out from a door into the back, beaming when she saw Adora. “Oh good, you came!”

“What, did you think she wouldn’t?” Catra sounded insulted. “I know how to make a good first impression.”

“It’s not the first impression I’m worried about.” Catra opened her mouth to argue, but Perfuma cut her off. “What can I get for you?”

Adora ordered, hoping it wasn’t obvious that she was hiding a laugh. It was, but Catra let it go. “So you’re still in school, right?” she asked, sipping her drink. “That’s a drag.”

“Kinda,” Adora admitted. “My fault for changing my major three years in, though.”

“Don’t blame you for that. Business finance is boring.”

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

Catra leaned back in her chair, resting her arm over the back and rolling her eyes. “Yeah, my mom wanted me on that path too. You know, respectable, _practical_ major, go to law school, blah, blah, blah… I lasted one year. You’re way stronger than I am.”

“ _You_ knew you didn’t want it and got out,” Adora pointed out. “I didn’t have the sense to do that.”

“Well — Wait, are we already playing the ‘don’t let the other person talk herself down’ game?” Catra checked a clock on the wall. “That only took twenty minutes. Impressive.”

Adora’s shoulders hunched up a bit. “Sorry, I just—”

“That’s also the third time you’ve apologized in twenty minutes.” Another light kick. “It’s fine, really. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Catra was suddenly very interested in the wall. “It’s probably my fault anyway. Perfuma did say I should be a little less… _me_.”

“ _Entrapta_ said that,” Perfuma argued from behind the counter.

“Translating whatever flowery bullshit you were spouting.”

“It’s okay,” Adora said quickly, smiling. “It’s fun.”

Catra looked back at her, surprised. “ _Fun_ , huh? Not usually a word people use for me.”

“That sounds like a them problem.”

That got Adora a dazzling smile, which set off something warm in her chest — a feeling unfurling, familiar, _happy_.

Why did she feel like she _knew_ Catra?

* * *

_“Adora, leave it—”_

_The girl doesn’t listen. She peeks under the bed, where she saw the ball of fur run, and meets a pair of blue and gold eyes. “It’s okay,” she whispers (she thinks it’s a whisper, at least). “I won’t hurt you.”_

_She reaches out a hand, then stops when the other girl hisses. Her tail is puffed up, ears straight back, eyes wild and afraid. “Adora,” Shadow Weaver scolds her again. “What did I say?”_

_“She’s scared. I wanna help her.”_

_“She’s an animal. It’s a waste of time.”_

_Adora’s cheeks puff out. “Pleeeeeeeeeeease Shadow Weaver?” She doesn’t want to leave the scared girl alone. The girl needs a friend. Adora can be a friend._

_Adora wants to be a friend_.

* * *

Adora’s eyes opened slowly as her alarm went off. What a _weird_ dream. Those eyes under the bed… must have been inspired by seeing Catra the other day, she decided, crawling out of bed to start her day — after sending a quick _good morning_ to Catra. She’d taken to randomly texting the woman throughout the day, just to see how Catra reacted. She returned to the shower to find a message waiting.

_We’re at sending good morning texts already? Damn, that was fast. Should I start looking for apartments?_

She wasn’t laughing. She definitely wasn’t laughing as she responded. _Sure, you look for apartments, I’ll look at rings_.

“Ooooooooooooooh,” Glimmer teased as she walked by Adora’s room and heard the definitely not laughter. “Someone’s texting her girlfriend.”

“She’s _not_ — oh forget it.”

 _Rings, huh? Don’t get ahead of yourself, Princess_.

* * *

Their second date was that Friday, less than a week later, at a casual restaurant. Adora had bullied Glimmer out of her credit card to pay for it.

“ _Every_ parent thinks their kid is perfect, I get that. But who walks into an art class and yells at a substitute teacher for telling a kid to try and even out their stupid clay pot?”

Catra had a _lot_ of stories. Adora could listen to her talk about her day the entire night. She worked as a sub, bouncing around the school district, and also volunteered as an art teacher at the community center. She _also_ ran a small photography business, which was impressive considering how much she seemed to hate people. Maybe she just liked having good stories.

“Oh, remember that newborn photo shoot I was telling you about?” she asked as they ate their appetizer — a basket of mozzarella sticks — and waited for their orders. “I got there and the father’s brother was hanging around too, and I don’t want to say the kid looked more like his uncle than his father, but…”

She let the silence do the rest of the talking. Adora laughed. “Please tell me you _didn’t_ say that.”

“Of course not! I’ll wait until the check clears.”

“Unbelievable.”

Catra grinned that same, mischievous grin. Adora had to fight down another smile, knowing encouragement would just egg her on. It was weird that this didn’t feel like a second date. It felt more like dating someone she’d known her entire life. She had definitely never met Catra, though. She’d remember that.

Maybe being this comfortable with her was a good sign, though.

* * *

_“You look out for me, and I look out for you.” Sad, lost eyes peer out from under the large blanket and larger mane of hair. “Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other.”_

_“You promise?” Catra asks in a small, lost voice. Adora smiles._

_“I promise.”_

_Catra leans into her — as close to a hug as they’ve ever gotten — and Adora holds her close. Promises are important. Promises can_ never _be broken._

 _And she’ll do anything to make sure that never happens_.

* * *

Adora groaned as her phone went off. It wasn’t an alarm — it was _Saturday_ — but a phone call. She reached over without looking at the caller ID and accepted the call, pressing the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“ _Hi, are you Adora?_ ”

She made a face, pulling away to look at the name on her phone. _Catra_. But that voice was definitely _not_ Catra’s voice. “Um… yes? Who’re you? How did you get Catra’s phone?”

“ _Entrapta!_ ” a more familiar voice yelled faintly from the other side. The woman on the phone squeaked.

“ _Not much time, Scorpia and I just need you to settle something for us. Would you call yourself Catra’s girlfriend?_ ”

“What?”

“ _Catra’s always proven to be a rather difficult person — I’ve known her since sophomore year of college and I don’t think she would even call me a friend_ —”

“ _I’m_ going _to call you my first victim if you don’t give me my damn phone — where are you going? Get off the fire escape!"_

“ _But she speaks to and of you quite often, and Scorpia is convinced this is a romantic relationship, and I’m curious about your view on it_.”

Adora blinked, staring at the wall as she tried to comprehend this. “What?”

There was a sigh, and then the voice spoke again, much slower. “ _I’m collecting information on Catra’s social interactions in order to track what kind of person she’s attracted to, as there seems to be no consistency in who she prefers to spend her time with._ ”

“ _I will_ end you _Entrapta, I swear to god_.”

“ _Oh, wow, you got up here fast_ —”

There was a wrestling noise on the other end, and then Catra’s breathless voice came on. “ _Hi… Adora… sorry about that. My friends don’t understand_ personal boundaries _.”_

“ _Oh, you_ do _consider me a friend! Fascinating_.”

Catra growled. “Are… we still on for tonight?” Adora asked slowly. “Or will you be in jail for murder?”

“ _I’ll text you and let you know_.”

Adora hung up, smiling. Would she call Catra her girlfriend? She’d certainly _like_ to. Maybe they could have that conversation tonight, if Catra didn’t get caught murdering her roommate.

* * *

“Hey Adora.”

A weird sense of déjà vu washed over Adora. Catra was standing in the hall, smirking, and Adora was frozen. Weird how a pretty girl could completely short-circuit her brain.

“So are we dating?”

Catra laughed, hands in her pockets. “Wow, right to the point? Do you want to call Entrapta and let her know the answer?”

Adora blushed. “Oh, um… right, sorry. Do you want to come in? I got the pizza already, and — she just got me thinking about it, I mean, we’ve been seeing each other awhile now, and I _feel_ like we’re dating, but we haven’t even kissed, and—”

And she was being cut off by a pair of gentle lips pressing against hers. “If you wanted to kiss me, you could’ve just asked,” Catra murmured as she pulled away. Damn it she was smooth. Adora did her best not to stutter.

“I mean… I can’t really complain about these results, right?”

“So _should_ we call Entrapta?”

Adora grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and tugged her inside, closing the door behind her.

They put on Netflix while they ate, enjoying the comfortable silence of each other’s company. Catra eventually ended up resting against Adora’s chest while Adora brushed her fingers through her hair. Her fingers came to a rest on the back of her neck, brushing against some raised skin. Catra shivered slightly.

“Sorry!” Adora pulled her hand away.

“No, it’s fine,” Catra assured her quickly. “It’s just a birthmark, I dunno why it freaks me out so much when people touch it.”

“Can I um… Can I see it?”

Adora had no idea what drove her to ask that, but Catra sat up and turned, brushing her hair away and holding it so Adora could see the odd birthmark. It was a small collection of what looked like scars, gathered in a circle in the very middle of her neck.

For a moment, Adora swore she could a silver disk with a green life, electricity sparking around it.

 _“Adora, I told you to stay away_.”

She jumped, pulling away. “You all right?” Catra asked as she let her hair fall back into place, looking curiously at Adora.

“Um… yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Sorry. You’re right, that’s a weird birthmark.”

“Right?” Catra settled back against her, shrugging. “Whatever. It’s not the weirdest thing about me. My eyes take the prize there.”

“I like your eyes,” Adora said without thinking. “They’re pretty.”

Catra tilted her head back to smirk at her. “Aw, you think my eyes are pretty? Careful, I might start to think you _like_ me.”

 _I think I love you_.

Adora couldn’t say that out loud.

* * *

_Smoke billows around Catra’s slim figure as she stares at Adora in betrayal._

_“Catra!”_

_“This isn't a game!”  
_ _Claws drag down the ice wall in front of Adora. “It's never been a game to me. I'm after something bigger, and no one is gonna stop me.”_

_“I know you're not a bad person, Catra. You don't belong with the Horde.”  
_ _“I don't. Want. To leave. What don't you understand about that?”_

_“Bye, Adora. I really am going to miss you.”  
_ _“Catra! Catra, no!”_

* * *

Adora shot up in bed, gasping. What the _hell_ were these dreams? And more importantly, why was Catra an actual _cat person_ in her dreams?

 _Mornin’ Princess_.

The text brought a small smile to Adora’s face when she saw it. _Oh, YOU’RE allowed to do good morning messages now?_

_I never said you weren’t. I’m just going to make fun of you for it._

_You’re such a brat._

_> :P _

Adora smiled at the text for a moment before flopping back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The dreams had become more frequent — memories of chasing a young cat girl up and down metal hallways, hiding from a robed figure when they were caught somewhere they weren’t supposed to be, comforting each other when things got hard.

Catra wasn’t the only one, either. She saw Bow and Glimmer sometimes — the archer and the princess, best friends, Rebellion fighters. And Adora was with them. But Catra wasn’t.

She was _there_ , though. Always present, whether it was as a best friend… or an enemy.

Adora swallowed hard and threw herself out of bed. She didn’t want to think about Catra as an enemy. She loved Catra. She was sure of that more and more every day. She wasn’t going to let some stupid dreams get in the way of that.

* * *

Entrapta was every bit as odd and lively in person as she was on the phone.

“So _you’re_ Adora? Hm…” Adora stood very still as the long-haired woman examined her. “Interesting. How often do you work out?”

“ _Entrapta_!” Catra hurried out of her room, glaring at her roommate. “I _told you_ not to answer the door. Where’s Scorpia?”

“Kitchen!” Scorpia called back. “Sorry, Wildcat, got my hands a bit full here.”

Catra took Entrapta by the shoulders and gently led her to the side before taking Adora’s hand and pulling her in. “You guys are _leaving_ soon, right?”

“Perfuma will be here in ten minutes. Are you sure you guys don’t want to come? It’ll be fun!”

Adora met Catra’s gaze. Catra shook her head once before saying, “No, Scorpia, we’re good, really.”

“What are they doing?” Adora asked curiously as they walked to the couch. It was another stay in night, which they were both fine with, since they would have an empty apartment — eventually.

“Scorpia’s going to Perfuma’s drum circle to participate. Entrapta is going to _observe_.”

“Um… right. Of course.”

The living room wall was lined with framed photos and paintings. Adora stopped to look as Catra got Netflix started. “Is this yours?” she asked, tilting her head and gesturing to one particularly bright painting of a large castle overlooking a forest, twinkling stars and three shining moons in the background.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Something I dream about sometimes, I dunno.” Catra shrugged. “Scorpia thought it was really pretty and begged me to let her hang it up.”

The detail was _incredible_. Adora got on her tiptoes to get a better look, wide-eyed. It was so familiar. Why was it so familiar?

“Hey, we gonna watch Hill House or what? Also are you going to stop hiding your face in my hair?”

“It’s scary!” Adora insisted, joining Catra on the couch.

“Then why are we watching it?”

“Because it’s a great show and I’m really enjoying it?”

Catra covered her face with her hand, sighing. “Oh my god. Fine.”

Of course, Adora spends at least half the night hiding her face in Catra’s hair, flinching at the sounds on the TV. Catra kept trying to get her to look at the scary parts, exclaiming, “You _have_ to see this part!” but Adora had stopped falling for it… eventually.

“Do you think ghosts and stuff are real?” Catra asked as another episode ended.

“I dunno,” Adora admitted. “It’s weird to think about, isn’t it? Like, what if there’s a ghost in the apartment right now?”

Catra snorted. “Then it needs to start paying rent. Once summer starts, I’m only going to have photography to bring in money. Or summer school, god forbid.”

“You know,” Adora started thoughtfully, “my roommates and I know a wedding planner. I bet she wouldn’t mind having a photographer to recommend. If you want to start expanding a bit.”

“Nah, photography’s not what I want to do with my life.” Catra grabbed the remote to skip the intro. “It’s just a hobby. Or a waste of time, if you ask my mother.” She paused, then added, “She thinks everything I enjoy is a waste of time, though.”

Adora reached out to gently take the remote and pause the show. “You don’t talk much about her,” she said quietly. Not that she was one to talk — Catra still only knew sparse details about Hope, but that was still more.

“There’s nothing to talk about. She’s a bitch, and I haven’t talked to her since I switched majors.” Catra laughed hollowly. “I was nineteen and she threw me out after yelling at me about how much time she wasted and how I didn’t deserve all the _opportunities_ she’d given me.”

“Wow.” Adora grimaced. Hope had been bad sometimes, and Adora had walked away with no plans of looking back, but at least she hadn’t actively tried to tear down Adora’s self esteem.

“Yeah, not really something I need in my life. We gonna keep going, or are you too scared?”

Adora stuck her tongue out at Catra, who returned the gesture. “ _Very_ mature.”

“You started it.”

* * *

_“Why wasn’t I ever good enough?”_

_Adora brushes her fingers through Catra’s short locks of hair, sighing. Another night, another nightmare about Shadow Weaver. As much as Catra says she didn’t care about the sorceress, the dreams still get to her, and the question still haunts her. What had she done to deserve so much hate? How could it have_ possibly _been justified._

 _“It’s not your fault,” Adora reminds her gently, kissing the scar on the back of her neck. “Shadow Weaver didn’t care about anyone but herself, even if she acted like she did._ You _didn’t do anything wrong.”_

 _“I was a_ kid _, and she…”_

_“I know.”_

_Catra curls up tighter, her hands resting over Adora’s. “I love you,” Adora reminds her gently. “You’re surrounded by so many people who care about you now. And she’s gone.”_

_“Yeah.” Catra sniffs, rolling over to press herself into Adora’s chest. “I love you too.”_

* * *

Something light fell over Adora; she made a face, opening her eyes a bit. “Oops, sorry.” A large figure was standing over them, illuminated by the hallway lights. Scorpia was covering them with a blanket. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, it just gets cold in here sometimes. Entrapta did… something to the AC, I’m not sure what, but we can’t get it to go above seventy.”

The words only partially registered as Adora stared at Scorpia — at her hands. Hands. Why did those look wrong? “You okay?” Scorpia whispered, tilting her head. Catra stirred slightly, burying her face deeper into Adora’s shoulder.

“Um… yeah. I’m fine. Thanks for the blanket.”

Scorpia shot her a thumbs up before heading back into the hall, shutting off the light behind her. Adora looked up at the wall, just making out the palace painting in the moonlight filtering through the window.

 _Bright Moon_.

She sighed and rested her head against the top of Catra’s, drifting back to sleep.

* * *

“Why are you googling reincarnation?”

Adora jumped, looking up from her phone to see Glimmer leaning over the back of the couch, staring at the screen. “No reason!” Her voice hopped up an octave. “Just, ya know, curious. Something Catra and I watched the other day got me thinking about it.”

The mention of Catra distracted Glimmer, thankfully. “You know you have to let us meet your girlfriend _eventually_ , right? It’s been four months.”

Four months? That was impossible. Hadn’t it been a lifetime? “She’s just… kind of anxious. And you and Bow are a lot sometimes, no offense.”

“Offense taken.” But Glimmer was smiling, so Adora assumed she was forgiven. “Come oooooooooooooon, we’ll be on our best behavior, I swear. Besides, we’re partially responsible for you meeting her, _and_ I paid for one of your dates. We’ve earned this.”

“I’ll _ask_ her.” Adora smiled, shooing Glimmer away. “Don’t you have to go to your parents’ for dinner?”

“Uuuuuuuuuuugh,” Glimmer groaned, slumping away. “Don’t remind me.”

Adora pulled up her texts and typed a message to Catra. _My roommates want to meet you_.

Catra replied a moment later. _Sparkles and Arrow Boy? Sounds great, I’m in_.

_Wow, really creative nick_

Adora stopped typing, staring at Catra’s reply for a minute. Had she told Catra their names? She couldn’t remember. But they’d been dating for four months. She must have mentioned them at _some_ point. Maybe Catra had seen Glimmer’s name on the credit card. But then how would she know Bow’s name? Adora _must_ have told her.

“ _I don't wanna see anyone, okay?! Not you, not Arrow Boy, or Sparkles, and definitely not Entrapta._ ”

“Adora?”

She looked up to see Glimmer with her jacket on, tilting her head. “You okay? You’re really pale.”

“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Bow added over Glimmer’s shoulder.

They’d been dating for four months. Adora must have told her about her roommates at some point.

“Yeah. I’m… I’m fine.”

* * *

_“Adora?”_

_Her eyes widen in disbelief. No, it can’t be. It_ can’t _. “Catra?!”_

 _“Don’t sound so happy to hear me.” Catra sounds amused for a moment before her voice turns serious. “I’m sending Glimmer to you. I don’t know your exact location, but I can get her to your quadrant. You_ have _to be there to catch her.”_

 _What?_ What? _“W-Wait — Wait, Glimmer is… is with_ you _?” How? How is this possible? Has_ Catra _been with Horde Prime all this time as well? How could she have missed that?_

 _There’s a crash on the other end of the line. “We don’t have time.” Catra almost sounds panicked. “You have to get to these coordinates_ now _. Don’t come here, no matter what.” She hears a familiar grunt as Catra hits something. “Horde Prime is ready for you.”_

_Another grunt. Adora wants to look at Bow and Entrapta, but she’s afraid to tear her eyes away from the pink globe. “Catra, I don’t understand, what is—”_

_“Just listen!” She jumps as Catra yells, struggling. “Adora, I’m sorry!”_ What? _“For everything!”_

_Catra. Catra apologizing. Catra clearly fighting something off as she speaks. And then… static._

_No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Catra!—”_

“Come back!”

Adora shot up in bed, displacing as Catra, who tumbled back as she screamed. Her door burst open, the light flicking on and blinding her.

“What’s wrong?!”

“Are you okay?”

“Adora?”

It was the softest voice which drew her attention. She turned shakily to see Catra staring at her, wide-eyed. Bow and Glimmer were forgotten in the door.

“It was just a dream.” She let out a long breath, reaching for Catra and pulling her into a tight hug.

“Yeah.” Catra’s arms curled around her. “Just a dream. You’re okay.”

 _Catra_ was okay. For some reason, that seemed more important.

No. Not some reason. She could still feel the horror as the call cut out, as Catra was abandoned to whatever fate was waiting for her on that ship.

She knew _exactly_ why it was more important.

* * *

Catra texted her a few days later to say Entrapta was sick, and the dummy needed full attention to make sure she didn’t continue whatever she was working on until she felt better. That didn’t surprise Adora at all. She was pretty sure she had never seen Entrapta sleep before—

Before. Before what? She’d known Entrapta for a like a month. But every time she closed her eyes, she saw a manic-eyed woman with long pigtails which moved independently, grabbing things for her, a mask resting on her head, her mouth moving as she spoke excitedly. Scorpia was a large woman encased in an exoskeleton with pincers for hand. Catra was…

 _Complicated, so complicated_.

Adora curled up, hiding head face under her pillow. It was all starting to make too much sense; she wasn’t sure what that said about her.

The Horde. The Rebellion. Bright Moon. _She-Ra_. What kind of sick joke was this? Why was she remembering _now_? Was it Catra? This all started with Catra. Everything _always_ went back to Catra.

Did _she_ remember? How was she not falling apart? Adora was terrified to go to sleep every night, wondering what she would _see_ of their… past lives.

This was all too weird.

Part of her considered breaking up with Catra. Maybe that would make the dreams stop. But a larger part of her felt sick at the thought. Leave Catra? _Again_? How could she? She loved Catra — now and then. She knew that for sure.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.” She groaned into her mattress, squeezing her eyes shut.

* * *

Catra didn’t text her for over a week. Adora wondered if Catra was just ghosting her — _running away just like she always does,_ no she promised she wouldn’t do that anymore. Adora scolded herself for the thought. It didn’t even _matter_. That was literally another life. A life Catra didn’t know anything about, apparently.

A life _nobody_ knew about. Why was Adora the only one who remembered? Or did they all remember and think she didn’t? She’d tried to test it, asking Bow if he knew Entrapta (“Yeah, I’ve seen her on the makerspace forums, she’s amazing”), and Glimmer if Bright Moon meant anything to her (“Is that an astrological thing?”), and the results hadn’t really been positive.

Maybe Adora was just losing her mind. Inserting people she knew into weird delusions to make them work with some insane story her brain was making up. Maybe she could write it and sell it, she thought with a humorless smile.

One night she finally snapped, grabbing her phone and texting Catra.

_Do you know anything about Etheria?_

She didn’t get an answer, which was no surprise. It was three in the morning. But she had to do it before she lost her nerve.

She’d almost fallen asleep, about half an hour later, when an abrupt pounding on the door jerked her out of her sleep.

“What the hell?” She heard Glimmer groan from the other room.

“I’ve got it!” she called back, hurrying out of bed and yanking the door open without thinking.

And there was Catra, staring at her, wild-eyed, sketchbook clutched to her chest. “ _You remember_.” Her voice was breathless. Adora wobbled for a moment, feeling as if the ground had given out from beneath her.

“ _You_ remember?” Her voice cracked a little. Catra nodded slowly. They stared at each other for a moment before Adora grabbed her, hugging her tight and pulling her inside. Catra clung to her with one arm.

“I thought I was losing my mind,” she whispered weakly, face pressed into Adora’s shoulder. “I’ve been dreaming about it since we met, and I...I…”

“Is… everything okay?”

Bow and Glimmer were peeking out of their room. Catra looked at them, then hid her face as she started laughing — or crying. It was hard to tell.

“It’s fine,” Adora said quickly. “We’ll um… we’ll be in my room. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Bow said quickly. “Let us know if you need anything.”

They retreated into Adora’s room, closing the door. Catra immediately collapsed on the bed, burying her face in her hands.

“ _Fuck_.”

“That’s… one way of putting it.” Adora sat beside her, careful to give her space. “How… How much do you remember?”

“I remember you died first.” There was a wry note of humor in Catra’s voice. “Always so eager to get away from me, aren’t you?”

“I _wasn’t_ — god you’re such a brat!” Adora threw her hands up. Catra finally looked at her again, smiling crookedly.

“Apparently I _followed_ you, so joke’s on you, I guess. We just can’t get rid of each other.”

“Good.” Adora scooted closer, cupping Catra’s face and kissing her gently. “I think I’m kind of fond of you.”

“Same.”

They sat in silence, feeling peace for the first time in a long time. “What’s the sketchbook for?” Adora asked finally, pulling away.

“Oh, I’ve been drawing my dreams — like that painting of Bright Moon.” Catra set the sketchbook down between them, flipping open to the first page. It was of the Fright Zone before they’d released Etheria’s magic. Then a sketch of Bright Moon. The Whispering Woods. The Sea Gate. Catra winced as she paused on that one, hand shaking.

“It’s okay.” Adora took her hand. “I think Mermista’s forgotten about that. If she even exists.”

“She does. She and Perfuma were roommates in college.”

Catra flipped to the next page. Hordak. The next one. Horde Prime. The next one. Shadow Weaver. She stopped again, eyes wide as something clicked in her head. “ _Shadow Weaver is my mother_. Are you _fucking_ kidding me?!”

Adora almost laughed before she realized something. “Wait… Light Hope is my foster mother! How does an AI get _reincarnated_?!”

Their gazes met before they started laughing, possibly a little hysterically. “This…” Catra managed to say after a moment. “This has got to be some fucking joke. Do Bow and Glimmer—?”

“Nope. Scorpia or Entrapta?”

“No, but Entrapta seemed to catch on that I was talking about reincarnation or some shit and I got three-hour lesson on the possibility of past lives and multiverses.”

“So… living with her is fun?”

“It’s _something_.” Catra turned another page. Adora’s heart jumped when she saw a detailed drawing of her her Bright Moon pin. “I was dreaming about the day you gave it to me, and I just… wanted to draw it. It felt important.”

Adora smiled, brushing her hands through Catra’s hair, her fingers lingering on the birthmark on her neck. Catra grimaced slightly. “What a joke. Whole new shiny life, but I still have a scar from the god damn chip.”

“I was doing some research about reincarnation,” Adora said slowly as Catra turned the page again. It was a drawing of Scorpia — Etherian Scorpia, pincers and all. “There’s a theory that birthmarks are scars from how you died. You know, if you were stabbed, shot, whatever. I mean, the chip didn’t kill you, obviously, but you had the scar for the rest of your life, so… I guess it carried over.”

Catra frowned, pressing a hand to the back of her neck — just as she had done so, so many times before. She turned the page again, smiling fondly at the next drawing. Melog. “Aaawww.” Adora brushed her fingers against the drawing.

“I had a cat when I was a kid, ya know,” Catra said. “I mean, he lived on the streets because Mom — _Shadow Weaver_ wouldn’t let me bring a _cat_ inside, but I brought him food and water and stuff, and I named him Melog.”

“I named my first car Swift Wind.”

Catra, to her credit, tried very hard not to laugh. She failed, but she tried. “ _Swift Wind?_ Seriously? You named your car after your stupid flying horse?!”

“I was seventeen! It sounded cool!”

“It does _not_ sound cool!”

Adora scowled playfully, tackling Catra to push her over and settling on top of her, leaning in until their forehead was touching. Catra smirked playfully. “Hey Adora.”

“Hmph.” Adora hummed, smiled. “You still think you’re so smooth.”

“I _am_ smooth. And you’re still a nerd.”

“Sure.” Adora kissed her quickly before falling to the side, curling up beside Catra. Catra turned to face her. “This doesn’t feel real,” she murmured after a minute.

“That’s because this is some fairytale bullshit,” Catra scoffed. “But… it’s real. I mean, I remember it all. You remember it all. We’re not insane.”

“Yeah.” Adora scooted closer, wrapping her arms around Catra and pulling her close. “We found each other again.”

“Careful, Adora. Someone might overhear and think you _like_ me.”

Adora rolled her eyes, nudging Catra. “I _love_ you, and I think by now you know that.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” She closed the space between them, gently kissing Adora again. “I love you too.”

Their gazes met, and they smiled. There really was nothing that could keep them apart. Not Shadow Weaver, not Horde Prime or his army, not _destiny_ , not even death. They were stronger than all of it.

There was comfort in the thought as they curled up together and fell asleep, back where they truly belonged — together.


End file.
